Fantasy Football Preparation Greg Allen, Fantasy Football Staff Writer Jul 15, 2003 | More

Fantasy Football Preparation

OK, so maybe the 2002 Fantasy Season didn’t go as well as you had hoped.  Or maybe it did but you stepped into a little luck and are worried about what to do to make it happen again.  Either way now is the time to begin preparing for the start of the 2003 season because your draft will be upon you sooner than you think.

Here are some tips that are guaranteed to lead to a successful season:

Join the Sharks.  The first thing you need to do is sign up for your free membership with http://www.fantasysharks.com.  Not only will you have access to the best free fantasy football resource on the internet, but you can also receive an email newsletter with all you need to dominate your league.

Read, read, read…  Once you’re signed up, dig out your league rules and read them.  This could be the most important thing you do because if you don’t understand the scoring system, the rules for free agent pickups and trades, or any of the other special rules that makes your league unique, you are playing at a disadvantage.  When you are done, put them down and read them again the next day.  Repeat this for at least a week or until you can recite the rules from memory.

Study the history books.  Don’t make the same mistakes again.  Go back and take a look at what you think worked well for you last year and what didn’t.   Did you do well in the draft?  Were you active in the free agent market during the season?  Did you make any trades?  How did they pan out?  Learn from your mistakes.

Emulate Success.  Check out draft strategies that worked last year.  Take a look at how the top 2-3 teams drafted.  If you don’t have this information, then make sure you stash this stuff away after your draft for next year.  I will be willing to bet that a pattern will emerge.  It could be that based on your scoring system, the top teams drafted with balance and took a top RB, WR, and QB with their first 3 picks.  Or it could be they loaded up on RBs until there were simply none left, and then looked at other positions. 

Be Prepared.  Once you’ve studied the history, it is now time to begin preparing for the future.  Checkout the team previews provided by the Shark Staff.  Which players are expected to move into a starting position this year?  Check out players who changed teams and look for who will fill their slot on the old team.  Make a list of players to target in your draft.

Skip the rookies.  Most experienced Fantasy Footballers will tell you that rookies are a huge gamble.  Every once in a while a rookie has a great season but usually it takes them a year or two to make an impact.  Unless you play in some form of a keeper league, my suggestion is to avoid drafting any rookies.

Check out Mock Drafts.  Since they are all over the internet, make sure you are familiar with the source.  This type of information is a great way to see whom the experts are picking.  Be sure to read the explanation to their selections as this will give you additional insight.

The week or so before your draft, put together your draft sheet.  You can start with any of the pre-made ones, but it is more rewarding to build your own.  Don’t just have a list of the top players.  Make sure your list is long enough to cover the number of players your entire league will draft.  Also include each player’s bye week so you don’t draft yourself into a problem.  Cross out any players you will absolutely never draft so you don’t forget and take them when the pressure is on.

The ultimate key to your success is to spend the time now preparing.  Then set your strategy and stick with it.  If you do you homework now you will be one step closer to doing the Victory Dance come December.